DU: evening colleges a big draw

The University of Delhi admission process, which is in its last leg, has thrown up a surprising trend this year. The varsity colleges, which came out with as many as four cut-off lists this year, have witnessed a sharp rise in the number of students opting for their evening classes.

The trend, this year, has surprised many as the varsity had kept a lot of options open, even after the fourth merit list, for students to enroll in its day colleges.

The trend — aspirants said — was largely due to the flexibility the timings of an evening college offered. The classes in evening colleges are conducted from late afternoon to evening, a fact that students claimed gave them ample time to pursue other activities.

“I attend chartered accountancy classes in the morning because of which I chose not to study from a regular day-college as it would have given me lesser time to prepare. The evening college timings suits me well. It gives me time to pursue my graduation and at the same time indulge myself in some other activity,” said Pulkit Sahni, a commerce applicant.

However, some students still perceived evening colleges as a mere back-up option, claiming that they did not want to be left without a seat in DU for want of more marks.

“I did not really make the cut to any of the regular day-colleges. I did not want to wait for them close admissions. Before all the seats were taken, I decided to take a chance and take admission in an evening college. It is not what I had in mind, but something is better than not having anything,” said an applicant at Moti Lal Nehru (evening).

Officials too, insisted that the evening colleges give students the freedom to pursue either a job or training for MBA programmes - something that day scholars did not enjoy.

“There is no difference between the curriculum in a day college and an evening college. They are taught the same things in class, the exam pattern is the same as is the degree. Students just have this notion that they are at a disadvantage. They can pursue several other things during the day if they study in an evening college,” said a senior DU official.